Monday, June 25, 2012

And We're Off

Destination: Alaska ETA: 3:30 pm

We made it to North Pole, Alaska on Tuesday, May 29th. The flight was a bit long, but at least we didn't have any extreme layovers. Travis was a sport and his back is getting stronger everyday. Brother Fuller, from our ward, picked us up from the Fairbanks airport. He greeted us at the baggage claim with pink and yellow Hawaiian leis and Twix candy bars. "Welcome newlyweds!", he boomed. The members of our ward have definitely taken us under their wings.

Married to this handsome guy.

Fairbanks Airport

After a 20 minute ride home brother Fuller helped us get our bags unloaded and into our little 300 square foot apt, which is attached to the back end of the PT clinic Travis is interning at. Talk about a short commute to work! We settled in for just a few minutes before we headed to the grocery store. Travis said we would be fine and didn't need to go to the store because we had plenty of food. I asked what we had and opened the fridge. Here is the fridge inventory: a dozen eggs, a container of country home butter, a bit of broccoli and a loaf of bread. Oh, and a water bottle. This boy was such a bachelor before he met me! At least he had some healthy basics.

Our first grocery store experience was an eyeopening one. Yes, there are interesting people in North Pole Alaska, and I have even shopped with Santa Claus on a couple of occasions since moving here, but it was the cost of everything that blew my mind! It cost $2.50 a pound for apples, $4 for a jug of milk, and $5 for a bag of corn chips:(. To say the least, Travis and I have a hard time grocery shopping because we are both cheap. We have learned a new tactic. Let me describe, you just don't look at the price if you really need it:) The upside of the whole cost thing, is that I really appreciate sales and think that a bag of cheese for $7 is the best thing in the whole world.

I have had fun exploring North Pole since we arrived. I don't have work here because it was a bit tricky to find a job for 6 short weeks, so I do volunteer work and observe an SLP at the hospital every now and then. Travis on the other hand works 12-15 hour days at the clinic. So, I have taken it upon myself to explore the town and report back to Travis each night. Everyone is very much so in the Christmas spirit all year round here.

We live just off of Santa Claus Ln.

This is what is looks like everywhere. The town is nestled into the woods.

Adventure in Fairbanks

Above is a little summary of one of my adventures in Fairbanks. I had the whole day to explore the city, but once I got off the bus it started pouring rain. I ducked into a cute boutique called If Only....A Fine Store. They had artisan type crafts and a kid corner full of children's books and games. I got Travis a cute little surprise from the kid section-cowboy band-aids:) While in the store I asked one of the gals working if she could recommend any places to visit in Fairbanks. We chatted for a bit while she wrote down some suggestions. It didn't take long to write down her recommendations because well, in Fairbanks you kind of have to make your own fun. She was a nice girl and I had fun chatting with her about Travis and I, and our new little adventure in Alaska. When I was getting ready to leave she said, " I feel strange doing this but if you like, you and your husband should do something with me and my husband sometime." It was the coolest thing ever! She told me she knew it was hard to make friends in Fairbanks. So, we exchanged numbers and ended up going to dinner a couple weeks later at the Pagoda. They were the coolest couple and it was refreshing to meet another young couple with similar values as us, even though they were not the same religion. Too many young adults in this world kinda miss the joy in having committed relationships and wanting to have a family of their own. The food was wonderful but the company was better. I think heavenly father works in mysterious ways to bless us with tiny tender mercies, like ducking into a shop to avoid the rain and making a new friend. Who knows if we will get to do something with them again in our short time here, but it was an experience that will make me think twice when I meet a kind stranger down the road.